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LONG BLOG

If you didnít read my first series Questioning vs Tropes 1 here are the links to do that.
Part 1Part 2Part 3

Warning

Spoiler Warning in this article for Timesplitters 2 and Timesplitters future perfect

Strong language will be present.

The majority of this article was compiled as best as I could from my own drunken notes having watches Damsels in Distress part 2

This article will assume some level of familiarity with [url=Damsel in Distress: Part 2 - Tropes vs Women in Video Games]Damsels in distress part 2: Tropes vs Women in Video games[/url]†as such its suggested you watch it, though how sober you wish to be is up to you

This second series of articles is going to go to some darker places which many might find uncomfortable, I'm warning you of this now as it is coming later down the line and for me to consider it darker places, well its pretty dark.

Also for the record I have watched part 3 and will be addressing that later when the time comes

So as I hinted in the Questioning vs Tropes 1 I was going to carry on and talk about Tropes vs Women in Video Games; Damsels in Distress part 2. That time has come and I feel like Iím opening by retreading very similar ground to the first time. No I think Iím retreading the same ground actually just with slightly different scenery as Iím starting once again by looking at potential misrepresentations put across in the video of certain games. Firstly with the actual most certain one.

Timesplitters 2

Used as an example of Damsel in distress were Timesplitters 2ís Maidens. Timesplitters 2 is a deliberately over-exagerated franchise to almost cartoon levels, especially in the third one with the Catch phrase line ďItís time to splitĒ conveniently overlooked is the actual wealth of female characters in Timesplitters 2, which are playable. Most noteably Corporal heart.

This is who you play as in the cathedral level, this is the main protagonist of that level

Now you might suggest that having the female character as the second player role is setting them as sidekicks. Then on the first main level of the game you take over a female spy trying to infiltrate a damn. Thats right even if youíre playing the Male protagonist the first level switches you to playing a female one due to the Quantum leap styled time travel shown in Timesplitters 2. The section shown was actually of a section in a cathedral where you hunt down the serial killer ďJack De le morgueĒ who in the Timesplitters universe is Jack the ripper essentially, but French. These maiden are not the main objective as such to be saved, you save them along the way but the main objective is killing Jack himself and taking the time crystal from him. Even in this level however you actually play as a female protagonist breaking into Notre Dame to free the maidens, youíre not the brave knight freeing the Damsel in distress youíre actually a more powerful female character freeing less powerful ones.

Timesplitters future perfect†

Timesplitters future perfect was later brought up in the video this time referencing a spy parody level which seeís you Harry Tipper trying trying to take down the one eyed villain with an affinity for cats called Khallos who had Kidnapped Kitten Celeste, itís not till further on you find she been tied to the tracks. Now this questions if this was a deliberate depowerment of the character or honestly just one giant parody as the whole point of doing a comic parody is to point the figure at something clearly wrong and show how stupid it is.†

So should parody no longer be able to highlight anything seen as offensive and wrong. Honestly one of the most complained about episodes of a series called the goodies focuses on the subject of apartheid, the whole episode showed how to rational people, supporters of apartheid seemed insane and then took it a stage further in the plotline by having an apartheid formed based on peoples heights, with people under a certain height being considered a lower subservient class of people. The whole episode was mocking the idea of apartheid not supporting it but because it even mentioned the subject at all many people seemingly wanted it removed from TV and never shown. However the question is why ? Itís an unpleasant (to say the least) part of the past but itís something that shouldnít be buried as only by knowing the past can the same mistakes be avoided in the future.

The whole point of the said level is Khallos is an exaggerated Bond Villain pretty much, right down to the white cat and implication heís Russian, the whole section is a parody of James Bond and things associated with it, with Khallos and his villainy being taken to the extreme which is the classic Moustache twirling level of tying a woman to a railway track.

Even then he's an equal oppertunities evil employer with Henchwomen as well as Henchmen.

Well thats the first part out the way. I'm cutting this one into smaller chunks just like the previous one to avoid large walls of text.

So there's only one last thing to do and that's to tell you what I plan to tackle in the next part.